THE TOOLS TO DO THE JOB

The Plaid driven one Wales Government is doing its best with limited powers, but, it still has one hand effectively tied behind its back by London based Government which appears, even after the greed induced stupidity fed banking crisis still appears to value the City and the Square mile above of all else. If we want to make things better then we need to fundamentally review economic policy and help to develop the local workforce’s skills which will help create the economic climate where local firms can develop, grow and prosper develop long-term sustainable economic prosperity and long-term employment in our communities and to do this Wales need more control of economic decision making.

There is a profound need to target economic policy on a regional basis across Wales, so that everyone benefits, not only those living immediately alongside the M4 corridor. The Plaid driven one Wales Government needs to help grow our small to medium enterprise (SME) sector, side by side with supporting the re-skilling of the workforce, if we do this then we can secure sustainable, long term economic growth and employment, if we don’t then we may slip back to boom and bust.

We are still facing a major economic challenge as large production companies see Eastern Europe (and beyond) as a cheaper location. Our rural industries, as well as those inside the traditional industrial heartland are especially vulnerable, as their economic viability is brought into question by a variety of reasons, including the astronomical rise in fuel and energy costs, the economic power of the supermarkets, European regulations on waste disposal, and the issues surrounding food imports as many companies are operating on somewhat slender profit margins.

One of the lessons that can be learned from Ireland is that a workforce’s skills are still fundamental to the success of a country’s economy and to economic development. Ireland was able to use use a third of its European funding to educate its workforce with new skills, as long as we are unable to do this here in Wales then our small businesses and our workforce will be disadvantaged. In Ireland the lower corporation tax was key component in attracting international investment.

Between 1972 and 2002 the Irish economy grew, on average, by 5% a year whilst the growth of the Welsh economy was less than 2% a year. In planning our economic future, we need hands on rather than hands off; it is vital that we look to our own resources and specifically to developing the SME sized businesses. Our local businesses, rather than multi national firms are much less likely to pack up and leave Wales for the cheaper labour markets of Eastern Europe and Asia.